Carol Channing and Justin Vivian Bond Together Again

New York, NY (Monday, November 18, 2013) - Producer Daniel Nardicio is pleased to announce that he will bring together two icons for one night only; Three-time Tony Award-winner Carol Channing will join queer icon and Tony Nominee Justin Vivian Bond in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: An Intimate Evening with Carol Channing and Justin Vivian Bond" on Jan. 20, 2014 at The Town Hall (123 West 43rd St, NYC). Musical direction for Mx. Bond is by Lance Horne. The event celebrates the 50th anniversary of Channing's most identified role, Dolly Gallagher Levi in "Hello Dolly," which debuted at the St. James Theatre on Jan. 16, 1964.

On Jan. 20th, the 92-year-old veteran stage and screen actress will regale audiences with stories of her 70-plus years in show business, her upbringing in San Francisco and her numerous costars. Bond, recently hailed by New Yorker as "the greatest cabaret artist of her generation," will open the show with a set of "love songs for Carol" before sitting down with Ms. Channing for a multimedia event featuring clips from her career, celebrity video clips and video questions which will be submitted in advance.

Ms. Channing joined Bond this past summer as part of Nardicio's "Icon Series" on Fire Island, which also boasted a prior summer pairing of Alan Cumming with Liza Minnelli.

Tickets for this once in a lifetime event celebrating Carol Channing are on-sale Monday, Nov. 18th at www.dworld.us or Town Hall box office at The Town Hall (123 West 43rd Street, NYC).

"A parade passes by? not likely"- The New York Times

Carol Channing's first job on stage in New York was in "No for an Answer," she was 19-years-old. Channing moved to Broadway for" Let's Face It!," in which she was an understudy for Eve Arden. Decades later, Arden would play "Dolly" in a road company after Channing finally relinquished her signature role.

Five years later, Channing had a featured role in a revue, "Lend an Ear." She was spotted and cast in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" as Lorelei Lee, the role that gained her recognition. (Her signature song from the production was "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".) In 1961, Channing became one of the few performers nominated for a Tony Award for work in a revue (rather than a traditional book musical); she was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for the short-lived revue "Show Girl." Channing came to national prominence as the star of Jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly!" (1964). Her performance as Dolly won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, in a year when her chief competition was Barbra Streisand for "Funny Girl."

She also appeared in a number of movies, "The First Traveling Sales Lady" (1956) with Ginger Rogers, the cult film "Skidoo" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie," opposite Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore. For "Millie" she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture.

During her film career, Channing also made some guest appearances on television including CBS’s "What’s My Line?," The movie stealing "White Witch in Alice in Wonderland," voice-over work in cartoons, most notably as Grandmamma in an animated version of "The Addams Family" and "Family Guy," "Sesame Street," "The Muppet Show," "The Love Boat," "Magnum P.I.," "The Nanny," and "Kathy Griffin’s: My Life on the D-list."

In 2002, "The Hello Dolly Original Broadway Cast" album received a Grammy in the Grammy Hall of Fame of Historical Significance. Most recently Dori Berinstein has made a documentary film about her called "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life" that has received 4.5-5 stars across the board.

Justin Vivian Bond, popularly known as Justin Bond, is an American singer-songwriter, performance artist, occasional actor and book author Hailed as "the greatest cabaret artist of v’s generation" by the New Yorker, Bond arose to notability playing the role of Kiki in the drag cabaret act Kiki and Herb. Born physically male, Bond is transgender and prefers the gender-inclusive honorific Mx. (in place of Ms./Mr.)Bond decided to bring an end to the Kiki character in 2004, subsequently embarking on a solo career, being featured in John Cameron Mitchell’s film "Shortbus" before releasing the EP "Pink Slip" (2009), followed in 2011 by the album "Dendrophile" and publication of the memoir "Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels."

With a musical voice, self-described as "kind of woody and full with a lot of vibration" Bond has received numerous accolades for performing-winning Obie (2001), Bessie (2004), and Ethyl (2007) awards, while also earning a 2007 Tony nomination. Bond performances have been described as being "hilarious, heart-wrenching, vulnerable, sardonic, Wiccan, and world-weary all at the same time."

Comments

Add your comment here:

Comments on Facebook

Related Stories

Producer/Promoter Daniel Nardicio’s much buzzed about 2013 Icon Series featuring a season of legends and A-listers ranging from Carol Channing to Margaret Cho, goes into full swing this weekend with comic legend Bruce Vilanch.

On Sunday, June 15 at The Cutting Room, New York City’s leading queer and indie entertainers will join forces for We Love Kate, a benefit to help raise money for transgender author, artist and activist Kate Bornstein’s cancer treatment.

What do Lady Gaga, Carol Channing, Levi Johnston, a room full of underwear clad partygoers and tonight's performance "An Evening with Alan Cumming" all have in common? New York City nightlife impresario Daniel Nardicio.